Josh Zeman
Barbara J. King
CHECKPOINT ZOO documents a daring rescue led by a heroic team of zookeepers and volunteers who risked their lives to save thousands of animals trapped in a zoo behind enemy lines in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.
Five weeks after the Invasion first began, the Zoo’s founder, Oleksandr Feldman, posted a desperate plea to social media – the relentless shelling had left thousands of animals trapped in their cages with little food and food water, and only a few zookeepers left to care for them.
Miraculously, the post went viral as zoos from across Ukraine and Europe were suddenly calling with offers to house the remaining animals. More so, within 24 hours, a group of volunteers had appeared on Feldman’s doorstop offering to help any way they could.
A deeply moving documentary that raises complicated questions about human-animal-relations, not least in the face of deteriorating relations between humans. For “Philosophy in the Wild” Barbara and Josh are planning to meet for a discussion after a screening in Virginia (date tbd).
Joshua Zeman
Joshua Zeman is the director and executive producer of Checkpoint Zoo and one of the leading voices in documentary storytelling. His critically-acclaimed film Cropsey is considered one of the top true crime documentaries of all time. In 2017, Zeman directed The Killing Season, which was also executive produced by Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney. Zeman also directed Murder Mountain, a docu-series for Netflix that’s been called “a must-watch”. In 2020, Zeman executive produced and directed The Sons of Sam, which was the #1 watched show on Netflix around the world during the week it was released.
Most recently, Zeman directed The Loneliest Whale, a cinematic quest to find the 52Hz Whale, whom scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude. The film, which was executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, has been called “a modern-day Moby Dick" and was nominated for three Critics Choice Awards.
Barbara J. King
Barbara J. King is emerita professor of anthropology at William & Mary and a freelance science writer and public speaker. The author of seven books, including most recently Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in Captivity and in the Wild, Barbara focuses on animal emotion and cognition, the ethics of our relationships with animals, and the evolutionary history of language, culture, and religion. Her book How Animals Grieve has been translated into 7 languages and her TED talk on animal love and grief has now received over 3 million views.
Barbara is honored to be a new Research Fellow at PAN Works, a center for ethics and policy dedicated to the wellbeing of animals.
Barbara is a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient whose work has appeared in Scientific American, NPR, Aeon, and Undark, and she regularly reviews books for NPR, the Washington Post, and the TLS. Barbara enjoys science outreach at events like the World Science Festival and the National Academy of Sciences’ Science & Entertainment Exchange “science speed dating” night, and through online discussions with groups interested in topics ranging from compassion for animals to ecological grief. In Virginia, she lives with her husband and rescued cats. She tweets about animals, science, and books @bjkingape.
Details coming soon